Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo will not play for the foreseeable future to undergo a bilateral femur reconstruction that “has no guarantee of success,” the team announced Monday night.

Questions about Pietrangelo’s health have existed throughout the season but were further amplified Sunday when The Fourth Period reported the Golden Knights’ alternate captain would require surgery and sit out the 2025-26 season.

Those questions persisted Monday with Pietrangelo and the Golden Knights issuing joint statements about his health and future.

“The past few years have been very challenging on my physical well-being, and I am in a difficult position with my overall playing health,” Pietrangelo said in the statement. “After exploring options with doctor as well as my family, it’s been advised to remove the intensity of hockey to see if my body can improve so that I can return to a normal quality of life.”

Pietrangelo also said that it has been difficult to come to terms with the decision while adding that the likelihood “is low that my body will recover to the standard required to play, but I know this is the right decision for me and my family.”

The two-time Stanley Cup champion finished with four goals and 33 points while averaging 22 minutes, 24 seconds in ice time over 71 games in a season that saw the Golden Knights eliminated in the Western Conference semifinals against the Edmonton Oilers.

Although the 35-year-old played in more than 70 games for the 12th time in his career, he withdrew from representing Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February to deal with an ailment.

Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon said in statement that the steps Pietrangelo was taking to play was taking a toll on his body with the intent that resting during the 4 Nations Face-Off for him to receive treatment would make a difference.

McCrimmon said there were diminished positive results, and it was a process that was “no longer sustainable” going forward.

“Today’s decision is a difficult one for both Alex and the Golden Knights, but it is being made for the right reasons,” McCrimmon said. “So, that Alex can be the family man we all know him to be.”

Pietrangelo, who was the No. 4 pick of the 2008 NHL draft broke into the NHL at 19 and became a full-time player at 21. He emerged into a top-pairing defenseman who was later named captain of the St. Louis Blues, the team that drafted him and one he helped lead to a Stanley Cup in 2019 before leaving in 2020 to sign with the Golden Knights.

The 35-year-old provided the Golden Knights with a proven do-everything defenseman as part of their win-at-all costs approach that saw them win the Stanley Cup in 2023.

A three-time NHL All-Star, Pietrangelo has scored 148 goals and 637 points in 1,087 games. In the playoffs, he has 15 goals and 80 points in 145 postseason games.

Providing an update on Pietrangelo’s health is the latest development in what has been an active period for the Vegas franchise.

It started late Sunday when they traded defenseman Nicolas Hague to the Nashville Predators in exchange for forward Colton Sissons and defenseman Jeremy Lauzon.

On Monday, sources told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan that the Golden Knights acquired pending unrestricted free agent winger Mitch Marner in a sign-and-trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs that saw forward Nicolas Roy go to Toronto.

Pietrangelo’s injury and the fact he’ll hypothetically sit out at least one season creates another question about how the Golden Knights will fill that void now that they have what appears to be an opening in their top four unless they elevate Zach Whitecloud.

The Golden Knights have six active defensemen under contract with the idea that moving Pietrangelo — and his $8.8 million cap hit — to long term injured reserve over the next two seasons could provide them with the financial flexibility to address his absence.